POTENTIAL THEORY FOR LYAPUNOV–DINI DOMAINS
MATHEMATICS
Submitted 1970-01-01 | SovietRxiv: ru-197001.98603 | Translated from Russian

Abstract Generated abstract

This paper extends classical potential theory from Lyapunov surfaces to domains whose boundaries belong to the Lyapunov-Dini class, characterized by controlled variation of the surface normal. Using previously established uniqueness for the homogeneous Neumann problem and local geometric estimates for such surfaces, it proves existence, continuity, jump relations, and normal derivative properties for single-layer and double-layer potentials under stated continuity or Dini-type conditions on the densities. The results also cover summable densities at Lebesgue points via a strengthened Riesz theorem and reduce Dirichlet and Neumann boundary-value problems for the Laplace equation to integral equations with compact operators. Consequently, the interior and exterior Dirichlet and Neumann problems with continuous boundary data are solvable, with solutions represented by the corresponding layer potentials.

Full Text

UDC 517.544

MATHEMATICS

E. I. MOISEEV

POTENTIAL THEORY FOR LYAPUNOV–DINI DOMAINS

(Presented by Academician A. N. Tikhonov on 8 XII 1969)

Definition. We shall say that a surface \(S \in A_{\varphi}^{(1)}\) if \(S \in C^{(1)}\) and, for any \(x\) and \(y \in S\), \(\theta \le a\varphi(r)\), where \(\theta\) is the angle between the normals to the surface at the points \(x\) and \(y\), \(r=|x-y|\), and \(a>0\) is a fixed constant (see, for example, \((^1)\)).

B. N. Khimchenko and the author proved the following theorem:

Theorem 1. Let \(S \in A_{\varphi}^{(1)}\) and let it bound a domain \(D\). Then the Neumann problem:

\[ \Delta U=0 \quad \text{in } D, \qquad \Delta=\sum_{i=1}^{m}\frac{\partial^2}{\partial x_i^2}, \]

\[ \left.\frac{\partial U}{\partial n}\right|_{S}=0,\qquad U\in C^{(0)}(\overline D)\cap C^{(2)}(D), \]

has only the trivial solution (see \((^2)\)).

In the proof the author constructed a harmonic function \(v(x_1,\rho)\) such that
\(\left.\partial v/\partial x_1\right|_{x_1=\rho=0}>0\), while on the lateral surface of the paraboloid of revolution \(x_1=\rho\varphi(\rho)\) the function \(v(x_1,\rho)\le 0\), \(v(0,0)=0\), where
\(\rho^2=\sum_{i=2}^{m}x_i^2\); for the construction the Poisson formula for the ball was used.

Relying on this theorem, the author transferred the principal results of potential theory to surfaces of class \(A_{\varphi}^{(1)}\). The proofs of all the following theorems are carried out essentially in the same way as for Lyapunov surfaces, provided the following facts are used:

1) Let \(S \in A_{\varphi}^{(1)}\); then there exists a constant \(d>0\) such that for an arbitrary point \(x\in S\) there exists a Lyapunov sphere.

2) If at a point \(O\in S\) a local coordinate system is introduced, with the direction of the outward normal coinciding with the axis \(OX_m\), then for points of the surface \(x\in S\cap K(0,d)\), where \(K(0,d)\) is a Lyapunov sphere with center at \(O\),

\[ |\cos(\nu,OX_k)|\le \sqrt{3}\,a\varphi(r),\quad k=1,2,\ldots,m-1; \]

\(\nu\) is the normal at the point \(x\);

\[ \cos(\nu,OX_m)\ge \tfrac12;\qquad |x_m|\le ar\varphi(r),\qquad |\cos(\nu,r)|\le c(a,m)\varphi(r) \]

(see, for example, \((^3)\)).

Let

\[ W(x)=\int_S \sigma(\xi)\frac{\partial}{\partial \nu}\left(\frac{1}{r^{m-2}}\right)\,dS, \qquad \sigma(\xi)\in C^{(0)}(S),\quad r=|x-\xi|,\quad S\in A_{\varphi}^{(1)}. \]

Theorem 2. \(W(x)\) exists for \(x\in S\), is a continuous function on \(S\), and the following relations hold:

\[ W_i(x_0)=\frac{(m-2)|S_1|}{2}\sigma(x_0)+\overline{W(x_0)}, \]

\[ W_e(x_0)=-\frac{(m-2)|S_1|}{2}\sigma(x_0)+\overline{W(x_0)}, \]

where \(W_i\) and \(W_e\) are the limiting values of \(W(x)\) as \(x\to x_0\in S\), respectively from the inside and from the outside; \(\overline{W(x_0)}=W(x_0)\), \(x_0\in S\), and the convergence is uniform with respect to \(x_0\in S\).

Theorem 3. Let

\[ |\sigma(x)-\sigma(x')|\le A|x-x'|,\qquad A=\mathrm{const};\quad x,x'\in S;\quad S\in A_{\varphi}^{(1)}. \]

If the potential \(W\) has one of the normal deriv-

\[ \frac{\partial W}{\partial n_e},\quad \frac{\partial W}{\partial n_i}; \]
at the point \(x_0\in S\), it also has the other normal derivative, and
\[ \left.\frac{\partial W}{\partial n_e}=\frac{\partial W}{\partial n_i}\right|_{x=x_0}. \]

Theorem 4. Suppose that the conditions of the preceding theorem are satisfied and
\[ \left|\int_0^{2\pi}(\sigma(x)-\sigma(x_0))\,d\varphi\right|\leq a\rho\varphi(\rho), \]
where \(|x-x_0|=\sqrt{\rho^2+z^2}\) in the local coordinate system; then \(W\) has a normal derivative at the point \(x_0\).

Let
\[ V(x)=\int_S \frac{\mu(\xi)}{r^{m-2}}\,dS,\qquad r=|x-\xi|. \]

Theorem 5. If \(S\in A_{\varphi}^{(1)}\), \(\mu\in C^{(0)}(S)\), then on the surface \(S\) the simple-layer potential has the normal derivative
\[ \frac{\partial V}{\partial n_i} = \frac{(m-2)|S_1|}{2}\mu(x_0)+\frac{\overline{\partial V}}{\partial n}, \]
\[ \frac{\partial V}{\partial n_e} = -\frac{(m-2)|S_1|}{2}\mu(x_0)+\frac{\overline{\partial V}}{\partial n}, \]
where \(\partial V/\partial n_i\), \(\partial V/\partial n_e\) are the limiting values of \(\partial V/\partial n\), respectively from inside and outside \(S\), and the convergence is uniform with respect to \(x_0\in S\);
\[ \frac{\overline{\partial V}}{\partial n} = \int_S \mu(\xi)\frac{\partial}{\partial n}\left(\frac{1}{r^{m-2}}\right)dS. \]

Theorem 6. If \(S\in A_{\varphi}^{(1)}\), \(|\mu(x)-\mu(x')|\leq \psi(|x-x'|)\),
\[ \int_0^1 \frac{\psi(x)}{x}\,dx<\infty, \]
then the derivatives \(\partial V/\partial x_1,\ldots,\partial V/\partial x_m\) are uniformly continuous functions both in the interior and in the exterior domain.

Theorem 7. Let \(\overline{\partial V}/\partial n=F(x)\), \(\mu\in C^{(0)}(S)\), \(S\in A_{\varphi_1}^{(1)}\),
\[ \int_0^1 \frac{dt}{t}\int_0^t \frac{\varphi_1(x)}{x}\,dx<\infty; \]
then
\[ |F(x)-F(x')|\leq B\psi(|x-x'|),\qquad x,x'\in S; \]
\[ B=\mathrm{const},\qquad \int_0^1 \frac{\psi(x)}{x}\,dx<\infty. \]

For the limiting values \(W(x)\), \(V(x)\), when \(\mu,\sigma\in L_1(S)\), exactly the same theorems are valid as in the case of Lyapunov surfaces, if one uses the strengthened theorem of F. Riesz:

Theorem 8. If \(m_0\) is a Lebesgue point of the summable function \(\mu(x)\) on \(S\), then
\[ \int_{(m_0,\delta)}\frac{|\mu-\mu_0|}{\rho^{m-1}}\varphi(\rho)\,dS \xrightarrow[\delta\to0]{}0, \qquad (m_0,\delta)=K(m_0,\delta)\cap S. \]

It is now clear that the first and second boundary-value problems for the Laplace equation with continuous boundary data on the surface \(S\in A_{\varphi}^{(1)}\) can be reduced to integral equations, and the following integral operators are obtained:
\[ (Ku)(x)=\int_{\Omega} K(x,\xi)u(\xi)\,d\xi,\qquad \Omega\subset E_{m-1}, \]
\[ K(x,\xi)=A(x,\xi)\varphi(r)/r^{m-1},\qquad |A(x,\xi)|\leq C. \]

Theorem 9. The integral operator \(K\) is defined on the entire space \(L_2(\Omega)\) and is bounded in it; moreover, it is completely continuous in \(L_2(\Omega)\).

Theorem 10. The integral operator \(K\) is completely continuous in the space \(C^{(0)}(\Omega)\) of functions continuous in \(\Omega\), if \(A(x,\xi)\) is continuous in \(\Omega\).

Hence we immediately obtain:

Theorem 11. If \(S \in A_{\varphi}^{(1)}\), then the interior and exterior Dirichlet and Neumann problems are solvable for arbitrary continuous boundary conditions, and the solutions can be represented, respectively, in the form of double- and single-layer potentials.

Moscow State University
named after M. V. Lomonosov

Received
19 XI 1969

References

  1. K.-O. Widman, Math. Scand., 21, 1, 17 (1967).
  2. B. N. Khimchenko, Differ. Equations, 5, 10, 1845 (1969).
  3. N. M. Günter, Potential Theory and Its Applications to Basic Problems of Mathematical Physics, Moscow, 1953.

Submission history

POTENTIAL THEORY FOR LYAPUNOV–DINI DOMAINS